Quilted comfort connects family to cancer caregivers

Stitch by stitch, this family remains connected to IU Health long after the loss of their loved one.

By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org

There were hugs, and there were more hugs. There were a few tears. Through it all the family of Cathy Austin also found some peace. That peace came through a brightly colored quilt with the same encouraging words that helped Austin through her cancer treatment. Words like: “Brave,” “Hope,” and “Healing.”

Cathy Austin, Brownsburg, died at the age of 67, on August 15, following a diagnosis and treatment for ovarian cancer. She was in the care of IU Health Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Dr. Jessica Parker. While she was a patient at IU Health, Austin, helped start a “First Monday Night” support group for patients with gynecologic cancer. She was also a wife, a daughter, a sister, and an aunt. She was retired from Allison’s Transmission, where she met her husband, Tom. They were married nearly 25 years ago at one of her favorite vacation spots in Hawaii. Cathy was also an animal lover and volunteered at the Indianapolis Zoo for three decades. She enjoyed music, shopping, reading, and riding her Harley motorcycle.

“She was a giver,” said one of her sisters. “She always cared about others.”

So it was in Cathy’s honor that her husband, mother, Jeanette Carney, and sisters, Mary Beth Brown, and Julie Small visited IU Health recently with a special gift. They met with some of her caregivers including, Dr. Parker, social worker Melissa Renbarger, and nurse practitioner, Hannah Wheaton to present a replica of the special quilt. The original quilt, measuring 60 “ by 72” helped get Cathy though some tough days. It includes more than 40 words of affirmation and was lovingly stitched by her mother and sister. Cathy wanted to bring it to the first Monday night support group to comfort other patients, but she passed before she could fulfill that wish. Even before hospice came to her home, she had selected colorful soft pieces of fleece that have been made into blankets to be gifted to patients with cancer.

The original quilt was the first of its size that her mother and sister, Julie Small, assembled.

“Cathy is the second child I’ve lost to cancer and it was important for me to do something in her memory,” said her mother. She pieced the quilt and Small stitched it together. “Throughout this loss, we’ve tried to look for a silver lining. Dr. Parker was a special one. She listened and validated our concerns,” said Small. Her husband, who went with Cathy to almost every appointment, also mentioned the caring hearts of Nurse Practitioner, Hannah Wheaton, and Nurse Navigator Nichole Scott.

As they met with the family, the care team shared special memories of Cathy’s personality - and they also shared a word that was on the blanket: “Support.” They gained support from each other and from their team at IU Health, said Tom Austin.

The First Monday support groups meet in the first floor of the Cancer Pavilion Atrium, beginning at 5:00 p.m. with a light dinner. The Dec. 2 meeting is a holiday-themed dinner. For more information call: 317-944-0301.